


Growing Pains

by Lori Lane (LoriLane)



Category: Dark Angel (TV)
Genre: Discipline, Gen, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:14:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22163152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoriLane/pseuds/Lori%20Lane
Summary: Max is tired of tolerating Alec's screw ups. It's time for a reckoning.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Growing Pains

Of all the ways Alec had imagined his day would end, he’d figured there was a less then 5% chance it would be with him sitting on Max’s very own couch, in Max’s very own apartment. The girl needs to learn to share already. She’s way too uptight about letting him near her job, her friends, her stuff... seems like Alec can’t turn around in this city without tripping over something she’s already pissed on and marked as “hers.” So he tells himself it’s just the novelty of being dragged to Max’s place that's making him shift around nervously, like a little kid, and _not_ her disapproving glare. Heck, Alec is more then used to having that particular look turned on him. Disapproving Glare is Max’s default facial expression, at least when Alec is around. He’s so used to it that it barely phases him anymore... which is why the new environment is to blame for his skittishness. Definitely.  
  
She continues to glare at him for another five minutes before she opens her mouth. The bitch is trying to make him squirm. “What the hell were you thinking, having Joshua do your runs?” she bites out at last, glaring pointedly at Alec.  
  
Alec shrugs and forces himself to settle comfortably in the couch before answering, flashing a languid smile designed to piss Max off. “I was thinkin’ Dog-Boy needed to get out of the house, and I needed to make some quick cash,” he answers flippantly.  
  
He suppresses a smirk, mildly proud of the particular hue of red Max’s face turns.  
  
Her eyes narrow. “I don’t get you Alec, I would have expected this outta you a few months ago, maybe, but I thought we were done with this crap. Joshua is your friend. He _trusts_ you! And you could’ve gotten him killed! All because you dragged him into another one of your stupid scams. I can’t believe I actually thought you were growing up.”  
  
He purposely ignores the twinge of guilt about Josh. “I’m already grown up.”  
  
Max’s hand twitches like she is resisting the urge to smack his head. “ _That_ I seriously doubt. Now spill. Why’d you do it?”  
  
Okay, so maybe Alec feels a _little_ guilty about the attempted robbery, and a little embarrassed that Max caught him, and more then a little worried about the X8 he dragged into the whole mess, but that doesn’t mean he’s about to spill his guts...  
  
“We were just stealing from a _bad guy._ Which is something I learned from _you_ , by the way! I needed someone who could crawl through the air ducts and not fall through, so I convinced an X8 to help me out with the job... and yeah, okay, I screwed up. We got caught – I got away, she didn’t. What do you want me to do? Abandon her? You’re the one who’s constantly harping about acting like a unit and crap. I can get her back, Max. I just have to pay this guy off. I had the deal lined up, but I couldn’t bail on it for work. And, look, about Josh... I never meant for him to get in trouble. I just needed the money.”  
  
... or maybe spilling his guts is exactly what he’s gonna do. Damn.  
  
“And you didn’t think that maybe you should tell me what was going on before you screwed everything up... Again.” Max looks royally pissed.  
  
He can’t resist rolling his eyes, “I _knew_ you’d get all huffy about this.”  
  
_Huffy._ One of his favorite words from his Common Verbal Usage class. It sounded exactly like it was. And Max is doing an amazing impression of being huff, huff, _huffy._  
  
“Huffy?” Her face darkens to a more brilliant shade of red. For a moment, Alec thinks she is going to punch him, but then it looks like she’s gotten a better idea. Alec can’t help but be a little disturbed by the concept.  
  
She continues in a much calmer tone, “I’m gonna bail you out. Again. But there’s consequences this time. I’m sick of always sticking my neck out for you because you can’t remember to keep a low profile.”  
  
Great. Max wants to lord it over him. Like his day couldn’t suck more. “Fine Max, whatever. I’ll detail your bike, or clean your apartment, or whatever. But I need 2,000 bucks before tomorrow morning or my little protégé goes to Juvie.”  
  
“Yeah, you don’t go near my bike,” Max says firmly, “There’s no need for manual labor. I know exactly what we’re gonna do.” She flashes him a toothy smile. “You know how I’ve been threatening to kick your ass about as long as I’ve known you. Well, it’s time to make good. I’m gonna spank you, Alec.”  
  
He raises an eyebrow, “Kinky. I’d rather spank you, though. I bruise easily. Afterwards I can tie you up if you want. I’m pretty open minded when it comes to sex.”  
  
The look she gives him is almost pitying and he sort of despises her for it. “Cute, but you know it’s not like that, Alec. You’ve been acting like a dumb kid, so I’m gonna treat you like one. Like a real kid, not some genetically enhanced super-soldier. There’s no more psy-ops if you screw up. Just my hand and your ass.”  
  
His stomach is in an uncomfortable knot, but Alec refuses to acknowledge it. “You seriously want to do this, Max?” he asks, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing him sweat. “What are you trying to do? Embarrass me? It’s not gonna work. I’m proud of my ass. And if you really wanted to sneak a peak, you could just ask.”  
  
She sits down next to him on the couch and gestures towards her lap, completely ignoring his posturing. Alec is starting to believe this really is going to happen.  
  
“Max... really?”  
  
She merely raises an eyebrow.  
  
With a reluctant sigh he awkwardly sprawls across her lap. He knows he looks ridiculous. He’s a six foot tall, genetically enhanced super-soldier bent over someone’s knee for a spanking. He isn’t even sure what he’s supposed to do when spanked. He hasn’t received any training in this sort of thing.  
  
“Stop thinking so hard.” Max’s voice cuts through his thoughts.  
  
He inhales sharply when he feels her begin to tug his pants down to his thighs. Alec can feel the tension humming throughout his body. He forces himself not to react when his briefs are also pulled down. He hears her hand cutting through the air, and a sharp crack, microseconds before he felt the first blush of pain.  
  
It doesn’t hurt that much, and he doesn’t hesitate to tell her that. “That’s it? Are you kidding me, Maxie? You got any idea the sort of training I had at Manticore? Next to that, this is nothing. You’re not hurting me, Max, so if you think this is going to be some sort of deterrent of something, you’re crazy.”  
  
He feels her hand unexpectedly settle on the back of his neck. Her voice is unusually soft, “I’m sorry you were in there, while I was outside. I came back for the rest of you as soon as I could.” She hesitated, “If you ever want to talk about what happened at Manticore, just let me know.”  
  
He tenses under her sympathy. He doesn’t need her pity. He clenches his jaw before forcing himself to smirk and glance at her over his shoulder, “Oh Max! You care, you really care? Can we go back to the kinky foreplay now?” He attempts to shift but her gentle hand becomes firm on his neck. ”How about you let me up and we’ll find a more interesting game to play.”  
  
When he stops wiggling she answers him calmly, “We never had a real childhood, Alec. But at least for me, I had my unit. We were a family. You never had anyone to be your family, to show you how to be a man, not a spoiled little soldier-boy. You’re always acting like an eight year old brat, so I figured I might as well let the punishment fit the crime.”  
  
And with that statement she begins spanking in earnest. The mild uncomfortable sensation of the blows, quickly becomes more heated. Max isn’t holding back. She’s swinging her arm with every bit of strength that Manticore bred into her. Alec is proud he doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t move. He hangs there limply over Max’s knees, torso supported by the couch, legs dangling and hitting the floor. The only clue that he’s even feeling the open palmed slaps, is his face pressed into the rough fabric of the couch. As the fire in his bottom grows, Alec finds himself thinking about his Surviving Torture Tactics class.  
  
He was twelve. They’d called him up to the front of his class and systematically broke every finger on his left hand while the entire class watched. 494 managed to give the instructor his hand without flinching or making a sound, feeling the fear, but containing it. He knew that if he reacted, his unit would suffer. So, 494 got very good at bearing pain. He could control his breathing and take his mind somewhere else, to the ocean he saw once in a documentary about Naval ops. Breathing through the pain, he thought of the brilliant blue of the water. In his mind, 494 reconstructed that beach. He heard the sound of lapping waves, and saw the sun sparking over the surface of the water. He imagined warm yellow granules, what he guessed sand would fee like, though he only had the dirt from the yard to base this on. He could feel them shift through his fingers...  
  
  
It takes him a moment to realize she stopped. He peers over his shoulder at her, blinking at her without really seeing.  
  
Max’s thumb rubs a comforting circle on his neck. “This isn’t torture Alec, it’s discipline. I know a tough guy like you can take the pain, but this isn’t about hurting you. It’s about breaking down some of those walls inside you, not building them up again. Come on back here, Alec,” she coaxes.  
  
Alec. His name is Alec. 494 was a tool he left at Manticore when he watched it burn to the ground.  
  
Alec watches Max smile as he comes back to himself. She comments dryly, “It would be a perk to have you thinkin’ about getting spanked next time you’re about to do something dumb, but I’m not holding my breath.”  
  
“Can you stop saying that word?” Alec protests, feeling a kind of pressure in his chest.  
  
Max looks insufferably smug, “What word?”  
  
“You know what word.”  
  
“Spanking? That’s what this is. Just callin’ it like it is.” She ruffles his hair, “Now stop using those Manticore tricks to deal with pain and just ride the ride with me.”  
  
“ _This?_ Oh this doesn’t hurt. It tickles!” Alec taunts, though he is lying through his teeth.  
  
Max huffs in annoyance. “Would you stop being such a...”  
  
“A what?” Alec wants to know.  
  
Max gives him a considering look. “A smart aleck,” she says, smiling.  
  
He looks down, studying the fabric of the couch and remembering the day Max gave him that name. “No,” he says quietly.  
  
“No?” Max asks, in surprise.  
  
“I won’t stop being... Alec,” he says softly.  
  
“Good,” she says, smiling. "You ready?"  
  
The nod he gives her is almost imperceptible, but she sees it anyway, and once again raises her hand.  
  
The blows are no longer evenly spaced. He can’t anticipate when, or where they’ll fall. Worst of all, Max has a nasty habit of lecturing while she spanks.  
  
“I can’t believe you would drag some little X8 into a dangerous situation and then not _tell_ me when it all goes to hell It’s our job to make sure those kids are safe out in the real world, not make them into nine-year-old cat-burglars.”  
  
He resists the urge to point out that everyone at Manticore is trained to deal with dangerous situations. Just because the X8s were adorable little nine year olds or whatever, doesn’t mean they spent those nine years in Manticore twiddling their thumbs and eating candy. “Max. It wasn’t even _my_ plan,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “Hell, X8-827 insisted she could crawl through the air ducts I just gave her the go-ahead ”  
  
“Enough of the sob story, Alec, it’s time to take responsibility for your actions. Even if it _was_ the kid’s idea, _you’re_ supposed to be the grown up. Obviously you’re _not_ the grown up which is why we’re here.” Max explains with determination, keeping up a steady stream of smacks.  
  
He feels every inch of her hand as she strikes his bare ass. Max has a callus on her palm, right under the ring finger. The tiny patch of roughness rakes across his sensitive skin as she slaps away. He feels the impact of her palm burst across his throbbing bottom, and then there is a tiny scratch as she lifts her hand away. It’s mesmerizing.  
  
She has her fingers spread far apart and he wonders if maybe it would be more effective to spank with fingers pressed together. Alec thinks that it would create a stronger impact due to the pressure of cutting through the air. Mathematically it makes sense. If he ever spanks anyone, he’s going to make his hand like a board. You know, for efficiency’s sake. Trust Max to screw up something as little as spanking... of course, even with her spread fingers it is taking all of his concentration not to wince at the heat in his bottom. Maybe Manticore had the wrong idea in using isolation to punish minor infractions. This seems to be a pretty effective punishment and it doesn’t require a week wasted in a cell.  
  
As Max begins concentrating on his thighs, Alec feels some unexpected moisture on his face. He promptly decides that is sweat. It’s a very hot room. That’s gotta be it.  
  
“You shouldn’t have done that job in the first place,” Max lectures, “and you sure as hell shouldn’t have kept me in the dark so long.”  
  
When he hears a low-pitched keening noise, he’s startled. That sound couldn’t possibly be coming from him He quickly clamps down on it and buries his face in the couch cushion. He refuses to cry in front of Max. It simply can’t happen.  
  
He is starting to go back to his imaginary beach, forcing his breathing to regulate as he all but chokes down on his sobs, when she finally stops. He’s screwed up again! He promised her he wouldn’t retreat into himself and then he goes ahead and does it anyway! Alec fully expects Max to start another lecture, but this time she tugs him up, helping him vacate her lap. She marches him over to the corner and puts him in, nose first. His pants slip down to his ankles and he feels utterly vulnerable. Manticore may not have taught them much about modesty, but this is ridiculous!  
  
“I gotta blaze. I’m going to Logan’s to fix this problem of yours. We’ll get the kid. You stay here with your nose pressed in this corner where I know you can’t screw things up. Original Cindy’ll be home any minute. She’ll know what to do with you.”  
  
Max leaves him without another word.  
  
Alec is intimately aware of his throbbing bottom exposed to the cold air of the room. He can’t really deny the chilly temperature anymore. He guesses he really is crying, then. But at least he isn’t making any noise, so it’s not like a baby sobbing. He’s just... releasing some emotional tension, is all. It’s a perfectly valid response and not at all emasculating. ... Sure.  
  
Alec is standing at attention in the corner for less then half an hour before Cindy comes in. He feels the draft from the open door acutely, and hears Cindy’s shocked intake of breath.  
  
“Alec?”  
  
He resists the urge to bang his head against the conveniently placed wall. “Yeah, Cindy. It’s me.”  
  
“Uh... you gonna pull your pants up now, or are you enjoying your corner time too much?”  
  
This time he goes ahead and knocks his head against the wall. It makes a satisfying _thump_ and distracts him from the situation. “Max told me to stay here.”  
  
He can sense movement behind him, but he still jumps when he feels Cindy’s hand on his shoulder. Her voice is kind, “Max ain’t here, sugar. Get yourself decent and come talk to me.”  
  
Alec sniffs once, then quickly bends down, retrieving his underwear and jeans from their position at his ankles. He hisses as fabric drags across sensitive skin, but he makes no attempt to lessen the discomfort by rubbing. When he looks for Cindy he finds her sitting on the couch, the site of his earlier disgrace. He is starting to hate that couch.  
  
She pats the cushion next to her and he sits down without wincing, but his jaw twitches with tension.  
  
Original Cindy takes one look at his face and reaches out a hand to guide the boy’s head down to her lap. She combs her fingers through his hair and shushes his protests.  
  
“Max spank you?”  
  
“No, Santa Claus decided I was a naughty little boy this year. Stupid Santa.” Alec says sarcastically, embarrassed at the loud sniff that follows.  
  
Cindy decides to ignore her boy’s smart mouth. “What’d you do to deserve that?”  
  
He laughs bitterly, “Just one more screw up in a long and varied career. Guess, Max just got sick of being polite about it.”  
  
Cindy rubs his arm. Alec sniffs in what he hopes is a manful kind of way, but there’s no denying it, Big Bad Alec is definitely crying. And in front of an Ordinary no less Psy-Ops would have a twisted field day with that information.  
  
“Boy, you think you’re the first kid to ever get his butt beat?” Original Cindy says, breaking through the shadow of fear that clouds Alec’s face. “ Everyone screws up. You’re out here, brand new in this world. Sure, I know you think you’re all grown, and your fancy Manticore trainin’ will get you outta every hole you dig for yourself... but the real world ain’t no picnic. It’s scary out there ‘n I’m surprised you haven’t screwed up more. Now, I don’t know why Max spanked you, but I’m sure it’s all water under the bridge now.”  
  
Alec sits up immediately, wiping furiously at his face trying to erase all evidence of weakness while plastering a fake grin on his face that he knows won’t fool anyone. “Nah, she still hates me. I mean our hate-hate relationship has been so successful, why change it?”  
  
Cindy pursed her lips, “She doesn’t hate you, and you don’t hate her. You just piss each other off. That’s what families do. You’re forgiven now, pretty boy. Whatever you did, Max forgives you. Spankin’s no fun, ‘less it’s with a hot honey in bed. But once it’s done, it’s done. Whatever you did to deserve it, it’s all forgiven. Max’s not too good at the cuddling after. She forgets that a spanking’s not over until the kid doesn’t feel guilty anymore. Lucky for you, you got Original Cindy here to hug. So get your butt over here, baby boo.”  
  
She opens her arms and raises an eyebrow. Her tone says she expects to be obeyed. Maybe it’s the soldier in him responding to a command. Maybe it’s the little boy in him that just wants a family. But Alec finds himself sinking back down on the couch and allowing Cindy to wrap her arms around him, rocking gently.  
  
For the first time since Psy-Ops broke him and reassembled him to their liking, he lets himself cry, honestly cry. Body-shaking sobs wash over him. He touches for the first time the grief he locked away in a box a long time ago, where no drill sergeant or commanding officer could use it to hurt him. Cindy simply rocks the broken boy in her arms, holding him until he’s spent. She kisses him on the forehead and thumbs away his tears.  
  
“You’re gonna be okay. Real world’s a hard place, but you gotta family to watch out for you. You’re gonna be okay.”  
  
He believes her.


End file.
